World Business Quick Take

Agencies

Tue, Oct 08, 2013 - Page 15

TECHNOLOGY

SmartTVs to give archive

LG Electronics Inc, Panasonic Corp and Royal Philips NV will introduce televisions next year equipped with Swedish software so users can watch television channels flexibly online. Magine AB’s cloud service lets users with an Internet link scan its TV schedules, surf channels, rewind shows and access archived content dating back 30 days via a tablet, telephone, computer or TV. The application will be available on the smart TVs in the first quarter of next year in European countries where Magine operates. “We see already that people are using this on the subway, at work and home, and we are seeing an increase in TV watching in general with it,” Magine chief executive officer Mattias Hjelmstedt said in a phone interview. The company will show off the system this week at the Mipcom TV market in Cannes, France.

INTERNET

UK Internet ad spending up

Spending on Internet advertising in Britain jumped by nearly a fifth in the first half of this year to ￡3 billion (US$4.85 billion), lifted by mobile video advertisements and marketing on social media by brands cashing in on signs of economic recovery. Spending on mobile phones alone rose 127 percent to ￡429.2 million from ￡188.1 million in the year-ago period, according to a report by the Internet Advertising Bureau yesterday. Brands selling consumer goods such as clothing, food and jewelry became the biggest users of mobile advertising, almost doubling their share to 26.8 percent from 14.5 percent, the bureau said.

TIRES

Apollo shares boosted

Shares of India’s Apollo Tyres rose as much as 4.13 percent yesterday on growing uncertainty over a US$2.5 billion deal announced this year to buy out US-based Cooper Tire & Rubber. The Indian tire maker said it was “working diligently” to resolve issues to finalize the merger with Cooper, which has accused Apollo of delaying the deal. “Apollo remains firmly of the belief that a merger with Cooper is compelling from a strategic perspective,” Apollo said in a statement on Sunday. The deal had been expected to be completed by the end of the year to create the world’s seventh-largest tire producer.

AVIATION

Firm halts temporary layoffs

Sikorsky, maker of the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, has dropped plans to furlough thousands of workers without pay because of the US government shutdown, a spokesperson said Sunday. The United Technologies affiliate pulled back after the Pentagon announced it was recalling most of its estimated 400,000 furloughed civilian workers despite the shutdown. “We’re relieved that the temporary layoffs and further disruption have been avoided. Our focus now turns to restoring full production levels,” Sikorsky’s spokesman said.

AVIATION

Rolls-Royce wins US contract

Rolls-Royce, the British maker of aircraft engines, announced yesterday that it had won two maintenance contracts from the US government worth together up to US$496 million. Rolls-Royce will provide parts and maintenance for thousands of T56 engines powering US military aircraft, under a six-year contract worth US$406 million, the company said in a statement. It has also won a five-year deal from the US Navy worth up to US$90 million to deliver engine repairs to E-2 Hawkeye aircraft.